Brigid Bergin

Here's what to watch for as the Council picks the city's 2nd most powerful leader.

With an eye toward Albany and the battle to pay for universal pre-k, de Blasio tapped a legislative fighter and a Cuomo ally in his latest round of appointments. 

There's more changing than who's at the helm of City Hall. Here are five things on the 2014 in / out list.

On the day when Mike Bloomberg signs his last bills into law, new Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to name DOE veteran Carmen Fariña as next schools chancellor. Brigid Bergin, WNYC politics reporter, discusses the latest in local politics news.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg just can't say goodbye—Bill de Blasio posits that it is government veterans who are best poised to make change—and Beth Fertig sketches out who the next schools chancellor might be. Andrea Bernstein, Brigid Bergin and Beth Fertig break down This Week in Politics.

Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio’s administration is taking shape. Behind the scenes, the daughter of a Brooklyn preacher, a mother of two who beat back cancer, is helping build the next administration.

With just two weeks left in office, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is making farewell stops in all five boroughs to tout his administration's accomplishments. But at a ribbon cutting in Brooklyn on Tuesday, he was on the defensive.

The roiling controversy surrounding Gov. Chris Christie's appointees at the Port Authority claims another resignation; Christie sits down with reporters; and Mayor Elect Bill de Blasio names another government veteran, this one to be the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services. WYNC's Andrea Bernstein breaks it all down with New Jersey Public Radio's Nancy Solomon and City Hall reporter Brigid Bergin.

As New York's new first family prepares to pack up and move to Gracie Mansion, a fellow Park Sloper bids farewell and vows not to trash their house with a rager. 

The election may be over, but Bill de Blasio is still fundraising. The mayor-elect is holding a high-dollar fundraiser at an undisclosed location Tuesday night to pay for his inauguration and transition. But unlike the campaign, there’s no public matching money this time around.

Dr. Mary T. Basset is the new commissioner of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Rose Pierre-Louis will lead the Office to Combat Domestic Violence.

As people continue to mourn the death of the late South African president Nelson Mandela, Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio offered a remembrance at a Brooklyn church on Sunday saying that he plans to use lessons from Mandela's life as he leads New York City.

A busy week for two Mayors and two Governors. Governors Chris Christie and Andrew Cuomo, outgoing Mayor Michael Bloomberg and incoming Mayor Bill de Blasio — all four had their reasons for running from the media and embracing us, for ducking questions and for answering them wholeheartedly. WNYC's Andrea Bernstein and Brigid Bergin and New Jersey Public Radio's Nancy Solomon break it all down.

As Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio unveils the city's next administration, Mayor Michael Bloomberg continued his farewell tour.

Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio has announced several key appointments to his cabinet this morning. Anthony Shorris will be first deputy mayor. Emma Wolfe will be Director of Intergovernmental Affairs. And Dominic Williams will be Shorris' Chief of Staff.

WNYC's Brigid Bergin and Kathleen Horan are at the press conference. Tom Robbins, investigative journalist in residence at the CUNY School of Journalism and former longtime columnist at the Village Voice, talks about the appointments and what they suggest about de Blasio's policy priorities. 

When Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio introduced Anthony Shorris as his new first deputy mayor on Wednesday, he said that Shorris, currently senior vice president at NYU-Langone Hospital, wasn’t someone who would need any “wind-up pitches.”

After making education the cornerstone of his successful campaign, Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio was greeted by a standing ovation Monday at a Columbia University summit on the future of the city’s children. The room was filled with educators, advocates and policy-makers, including former Mayor David Dinkins, who de Blasio thanked for launching his career.

Brigid Bergin, WNYC politics reporter, and Andrew Hawkins, political reporter for Crain's New York Business, discuss the latest news in the de Blasio transition, from appointments to the final - balanced - Bloomberg budget.

New Jersey Gov.Chris Christie took a big step on the national stage this week, rising to head the National Governors Association. Meanwhile, incoming Mayor Bill de Blasio talked transition under a big tent, and outgoing Mayor Michael Bloomberg shored up his legacy with a balanced budget announcement. WNYC's Andrea Bernstein, Brigid Bergin and New Jersey Public Radio Managing Editor Nancy Solomon break it down in This Week In Politics.

The race is on to replace outgoing Council Speaker Christine Quinn. It's considered one of the most powerful positions in City Hall - second only to mayor. For years, it's been a race controlled by party bosses and decided through backroom deals. You can almost smell the smoke-filled room. But there's a serious effort underway to change all that. Here's are four things that make this Council Speaker race (which you can't even vote in) worth-watching: